January 18, 2008
Bryan Ehlmann and I started our birding day by searching for Short-eared Owls before sunrise at Sedgwick Draw (Sedgwick County) and east. We did not enjoy luck today and found none.
A male Red-bellied Woodpecker was at the Sedgwick Cemetery. Cannot figure where he goes? The cemetery is small and we have only found him on two of our last five trips. The next group of trees is quite far away.
Next we went over to Sterling Reservoir (Logan). Birds were few. Temperatures were in the low 20s; it was cold.
We stopped at Jackson Reservoir (Morgan) to search for owls and birds. Again few birds were around. There are one or two Long-eared Owls at the reservoir. It takes some searching to find one (we did)!
Inspection of the feeders in Log Lane Village found only House Finches and House Sparrows. These feeders have enjoyed visits by Common Redpoll and Purple Finches in the past.
Barr Lake (Adams) was skipped as the feeders there have been quiet for several months.
We picked up Rebecca Kosten and Sue Ehlmann and headed for an earlier dinner. It was decided to stop at the Highline Canal at Dahlia Street (Arapahoe) first to see if the Northern Mockingbird was still around. We did not find the Northern Mockingbird or the previously reported White-throated Sparrows. The "mockingbird" area (400 yards north of the Dahlia parking area) was filled with hundreds of European Starlings, dozens of American Robins, and a dozen Cedar Waxwings.
Our thinking was that they "scared off" the mockingbird. As we watched a Spotted Towhee underneath the Buckthorn bushes a flock of 70+ Bohemian Waxwings flew into the bushes. They stayed for the 30 minutes we watched them and were still there when we left. A local landowner walked by and said that the Bohemian Waxwings had first come there yesterday afternoon. The area is filled with Buckthorn berries; perhaps the waxwings will continue for another day or too?
After dinner, we drove through Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe). Hundreds of geese were flying in from the golf course and Village Greens Park to the west. No uncommon ones were picked out. We drove over to the shooting range and found a Northern Shrike perched on top of one of the Russian Olive Trees near the entrance.
Two Red-tailed Hawks (one dark morph) were the last birds spotted as we left the park.
Bryan Ehlmann and I started our birding day by searching for Short-eared Owls before sunrise at Sedgwick Draw (Sedgwick County) and east. We did not enjoy luck today and found none.
A male Red-bellied Woodpecker was at the Sedgwick Cemetery. Cannot figure where he goes? The cemetery is small and we have only found him on two of our last five trips. The next group of trees is quite far away.
Next we went over to Sterling Reservoir (Logan). Birds were few. Temperatures were in the low 20s; it was cold.
We stopped at Jackson Reservoir (Morgan) to search for owls and birds. Again few birds were around. There are one or two Long-eared Owls at the reservoir. It takes some searching to find one (we did)!
Inspection of the feeders in Log Lane Village found only House Finches and House Sparrows. These feeders have enjoyed visits by Common Redpoll and Purple Finches in the past.
Barr Lake (Adams) was skipped as the feeders there have been quiet for several months.
We picked up Rebecca Kosten and Sue Ehlmann and headed for an earlier dinner. It was decided to stop at the Highline Canal at Dahlia Street (Arapahoe) first to see if the Northern Mockingbird was still around. We did not find the Northern Mockingbird or the previously reported White-throated Sparrows. The "mockingbird" area (400 yards north of the Dahlia parking area) was filled with hundreds of European Starlings, dozens of American Robins, and a dozen Cedar Waxwings.
Our thinking was that they "scared off" the mockingbird. As we watched a Spotted Towhee underneath the Buckthorn bushes a flock of 70+ Bohemian Waxwings flew into the bushes. They stayed for the 30 minutes we watched them and were still there when we left. A local landowner walked by and said that the Bohemian Waxwings had first come there yesterday afternoon. The area is filled with Buckthorn berries; perhaps the waxwings will continue for another day or too?
After dinner, we drove through Cherry Creek Reservoir (Arapahoe). Hundreds of geese were flying in from the golf course and Village Greens Park to the west. No uncommon ones were picked out. We drove over to the shooting range and found a Northern Shrike perched on top of one of the Russian Olive Trees near the entrance.
Two Red-tailed Hawks (one dark morph) were the last birds spotted as we left the park.
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